Full automatic orientator and tip cutting apparatus



NOV. 1942- E. w. CARROLL FULL AUTOMATIC ORIENTATOR AND TIP CUTTING APPARATUS Original Filed Nov. 13, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN vE/v TOE uswoemlft'neeou I 'miw A r roems rs 0% v B E S A n q. 0%. m OJ. MN S] NW mm m mu u n a EN 3 3 M @mw w v ,1 mm am 9% ww mw NQR u .11 N w Nov. 3, 1942. E. w. CARROLL 2,300,773

FULL AUTOMATIC ORIENTATOR ANb TIP CUTTING APPARATUS Original Filed Nov. 13, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 M/Ve /vroe Euswozerw W.- (142E041.

' AT'T'OPMCYS.

Nov. 3, 1942. E. w. CARROLL 2,300,773

FULL AUTOMATIC ORIENTATOR AN D TIP CUTTING APPARATUS Original Filed Nov. 13, 1939 T 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 V V I on =2 0 M g i z k Q Q nvvewraz I E Euswomw W CARROLL A r TOENE Y8.

5 Sheets-rSheet 4 INVENTOE CARROLL Ar-r02 NEYS E. w. CARROLL Original Filed Nov. 1s, 1939 all l Euswoen/ W.

Nov. 3, 1942.

FULL AUTOMATIC ORIENTATOR AND TIP CUTTING APPARATUS Nov. 3, 1942. V E. w. CARROLL 2,300,773

FULL AUTOMATIC ORIENTATOR AND TIP CUTTING APPARATUS Original Filed Nov. 1s 1959 5 sheets sheet 5 INVENTOR, ELLSWORTH u. CARROLL ATTORNEYS.

PatentedN'ov. 3, 1942 uivrriszp STATES PATENT F-FlCE rum. au'rom'rlo onirm'ra-roa AND m f I comma mana'ros Ellsworth W. Carroll, San Carlos, Calif assignor toSlrWFineFoods,

Inc., San. Francisco,

Calif., a corporation or California Original application November 13,1939, Serial No. 304,108. Divided and this application June '2. 1911, Serial No. 397,037

BClaims.

When pitting fruit such as peaches, cherries.

.or the like, by machine it has heretofore been necessary to orientate the fruit manually.

The primary object 01 this invention is to provide a lull automatic machine which will take the fruit from a hopper (where the fruit is poured in haphazardly), orientate the stem indent to a predetermined position in relation tothe machine and deliver the fruit to a pitting ggchine in this same predetermined relative pcon. Another object is to provide a machine which will in addition to the above,.inspect the .fruit for proper orientation, reject the non-orientated fruit and deliver the properly orientated fruit as above.

Another object is to provide a machine which will in addition to .all the foregoing, orientate the seam which is characteristic of such fruit as peaches and apricots, inspect the fruit for properly orientated seams, reject the fruit having non-orientated seams and deliverthe orientated fruit to 'a pitting machine with the seam and blossom end and the stem end) in a horizontal position while removing the pits.

.The mechanism shown forsevering the "tips and locating the side seams of such fruit as peaches would obviously be omitted when building a machine to orientate fruit which does not have such characteristics, without departing from the spirit of this invention.

I will later on describe a: mechanism more particularly adapted to orientate fruit to a stem downward position, and to inspect for proper orientation in this position. 4

The changes necessary to the mechanism shown to orientate fruit to any other relative position are comparatively simple and will be readily understood by, those skilled in this art.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein there is shown by way of'i1 lustration and not of limitation, preferred embodiments thereof,

In the drawings-wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views;

stem indent in proper position (relative to-the machine) for pitting.

Another object is to provide a machine which will sever the tips from fruit such as peaches.

Another object is to provide a hopper which willinsure an extremely slow but absolutely uniform delivery of contents and more especially :vhen the contents are non-rigid bodies such as ruit.

Another object is to provide an invention which will be equallywell adapted to orientating fruit to a vertical, horizontal, or to any other position of the major axis or the fruit, thereby making this invention practical tor use on any type of pitting machine. e

Other objects and advantages will be evident a the fruit along a track consisting oi'two knifelike guideways embedded in the meat of the fruit, and m which the mm; is held with its Fig. 1 shows a front elevation of this machine with the front wall removed. 1 1

Fig. 2 shows a top or plan view of this machine, but with the extreme upper superstructure removed.

Fig. 3 is a top or plan view showing those parts which were removed from Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical view taken at lines IV-I. of Fig. 1, looking in the direction shown by arrows, showing the mechanism of station D for orientating the stem indent to a horizontal plane.

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical view taken at lines V-V of Fig. 1, looking inthe direction shown by arrows, showing the mechanism of.

station E, for orientating the stem indent to the shown position.

Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical view taken at 7 major axis (that is, a line passing through the Fig. 10 shows an enlarged view of the ends of the two fingers which ride the peach to detect the seam.

Fig. 11 shows an alternate construction of the orienting means.

Fig. 12 shows an alternate type of inspection and rejection means.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 2, showing the shape of the tip cutoff knives.

Similar 'numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings i designates generally a housing within which and upon which the operating parts of the orientating mechanism are mounted.

The housing I0 is secured to and supported by the pitting machine, a part of which is shown at H in F18. 2.

Referring to Fig. l: Joumaled within the pitting machine and extending into the orientator is the drive shaft l2, having secured thereon the sprocket l3 which drives the endless chain |4 having attachment links i5 which carry the plates l6.

Referring now to Fig. 2: Th plates Iii-l6 are provided with pivots |'I--|'| for the tongs |8|8 which are biased inwardly by the C-shaped spring I! and provided with interlocking gear segments 2' to insure uniform centralizing action of the concave faceswhich contact the fruit 2|.

In Fig. l the housing I0 is provided with bearings for the shaft 22which carries the sprocket 23 for the return "of the chain l4, which then passes through the hopper 24 in the direction shown by the arrow which has an oscillating bottom 25, hingedthereto at 26. This oscillating bottom is adjustable for length and secured at the desired length by screws 21.

The housing I0 is also provided with bearings for the shaft 28 having secured theretov the pulley 29, the eccentric 3|) and the sprocket 3|, all of which are rotated by the chain 4.

The cylindrical bristle brush 32 is secured to the shaft 33 which is journaled in the housing l0 and driven by the tight pulley 34, which is in turn driven by the belt 35 from the pulley 29. The eccentric 30 is joumaled in the eccentric strap 38 which is pivoted at 31 to the hopper bottom 25, thus oscillating the latter. The hopper 24 is also provided with a stationary bottom 38.

It is well known to everyone who has attempted to secure a slow and uniform feed of fruit. (or other non-rigid bodies) from the bottom of a hopper, that the chief dimculty to be overcome is the fact that after the first few fruits or objects have left the hopper, the remaining fruit will be found to have formed an arch over the exit, thus stopping the flow. To overcom this objection, the oscillating bottom 25 is provided to agitate the fruit just enough to prevent these arches being formed. It is also found necessary to provide a space where a few fruits can ride the existing means (the tongs l8 in this case) free of any superimposed fruit, this space providing a reserve supply of fruit to fill any empty openings, in case the crowding or superimposed weight at the extreme bottom of the hopper prevent filling all openings in the exiting means at the extreme bottom point. As the tongs l8 are carried through the hopper 24 they are held open,.by a stationarycam track 39-Fig. 2 (which forces the end'of the segments 20 inwardly, thus separating the tongs l8), to receive a peach 2|-'A in Fig.4, the track 39 being secured to the hopper bottom as, ,all surplus fruit being brushed back by the brush 32 traveling in the direction. indi- 7 cated by the arrow.

In Fig. 1 the vertical shafts 40 are journaled in the housing It and restrained from vertical movement by the collars 4|, and the pulleys 42 afiixed thereto. The gear housings 43-44 are joumaled on the shafts 40 and are free also for axialmovements thereon. Within each housing 43-44 is a pair of spiral gears (not shown). One of these spiral gears is slidably mounted on the vertical shaft 40 which has a sliding keyway so as to revolve the gear with the shaft 40, but yet permit of a free axial movement. This first gear meshes with and drives its mate which is secured to the shaft 45, which is journaled in the housings 43 and 44 and in the fork 43-A which is a part of the respective housings. The shaft 45 has fixed thereon the roller 46 which is preferably made of sponge rubber. Should it be desirable to use some other material, especially a material having a smooth surface, a serrated face is recommended (such as is shown in Fig. 9).

The housings 43 and 44 are provided with the slidably mounted stems 41 and with coiled compression springs 48 which are just strong enough to give the desired pressure on the fruit.

A thin, narrow curved knife is shown at 48, I suspended by the upwardly extended arms 5|! and pivoted at 5| to the frame 52 and having outwardly extending fingers 53' and also provided with comparatively light tension springs E4 to bias the two knives 49 against the fruit so that when th fruit is revolved by the rollers 44 all protuberances will be. cut off.

A plurality of tip cut-off knives 45 is preferable, 4

shorter the cutting edge of the'knife 49 is, the

less noticeable will be the result of this difference in radii. See Fi 2.

Secured to the-frame 52 are the stems 55 which are slidably mounted in the top frame 56, and which have the upper nds bifurcated and pivoted at 51 to the bifurcated ends of the lever 58, best shown in Fig. 3. The link 59 in Fig. 5 is pivoted at to the frame 56 and at 8| to the lever 58, the latter being pivoted at 62 to the connecting rod 63, which is pivoted at the lower end at 84 in Fig. 5 to thelever 65 which is securedto the shaft 66 which is suitably mounted for oscillation in the brackets 61 of the housing l0. This shaft 66 will 'be further described later on.

' In Fig. 4 the quill 68 is mounted to slide freely on the stem 41 and in the frame 58, with a collar 89 to halt the downward travel in the position shown. The quill 68 has a suitable mounting at the lower end for a series of radially mounted oscillating fingers 10 which are pivoted at 1| and provided with '9. lug I2 fitted to engage the disc 13 which is secured to the extensions of the frame 52. (See also Fig. 3.) The lower ends of the fingers I0 are rounded off and smooth, to freely ride the peach 2|, and are held'in engagement with the peach by the counterweights 14.

The fingers 10 are arranged radially to contact one half the periphery of the peach 2| on the horizontal 'centerlineat regularly spaced inter vals, and are preferably arranged in groups of three fingers per unit as follows:

In Fig. 8 the counterweights I4 of the center member of the unit has secured thereto two electrical contact bars 15, but electrically insulated therefrom by the non-conductors 18, v The counterweights 14 .of the two adjacent fingers are equipped with electrical contact points 11 grounded to the housing l0. The contact bars 5 I5 are so spaced that minor irregularities in the surface of the fruit will not make a contact with the points II, but so that a major relative movement of the fingers I such as is caused by any one of the three fingers I0 of that unit dropping into the stem indent will establish an electrical circuit. The bars I are provided with electrical conductors 18, which are joined together and led to the electro-magnet I9, Fig. 4, which has a conductor "80 which connects with any suitable source of electricity, which source is alsogrounded to the housing I0 in order to complete the circuit. The conductor 80 is also provided with a switch (not shown) controlled by the pitting machine II for interrupting the current while the chain I4 is being advanced, as will be described later.

Referring to Fig. 4, the link 8| suitably connecting the two housings 43-44 through the medium of the lever 82, which is pivoted-at 83 on the bracket 84 of the housing III, with a slot 85 sliding on the pin 86, which is secured to the fork 43-A, forms an equalizing gear, which is common to each pair of the gear housings 43-44. The lever 31 is secured to the shaft 88 and bifurcated at the opposite end so as to engage the collar 88, and thus provide means for separating the housings 43 and 44 as the lever 01 is moved downward. Fig. 1 shows the electro-magnet I9 having suitable brackets 09 and being attached to and supported by the housing I0.

In Fig. 5 the armature 90 is fixed to the rod 9| which is slidably mounted in the housing I0 and provided at the lower end with a shifting fork 92 which is rotatably engaged with the groove 93 of the sliding clutch member 94, which is slidably keyed to the shaft 95. The sliding clutch member 94 is provided with a cone clutch face at 96 which engages a'mating clutch face secured to the pulley 91 which is joumaled in the bracket 98 extending from the housing I0. The upper light leaf spring Ill biased away from the lever m, having an electrical contact point I I9, which is grounded to the housing I0, and terminates in the fork I20 which rides the peach lightly. The lever II4 has an insulated adjustable electrical contact point I2I so mounted that when the peach 2| which is'held and revolved by the cups I00 and H0 has been turned to that position at which the roller II3 enters the stem indent, an

suitable source of electrical energy (not shown) which is o rounded tothe housing I0, to com- Dlete the circuit. I

The foregoing mechanism is so constructed I that the contact points are separated by the light spring tension of the leaf spring H8 at all times except when the roller I I3 enters the stem indent, at which time the spring IIE overcomes the comparatively light spring II8, thus forcing the conend of the sliding member 94 forms a conical brake 99 with the mating member secured to the housing I0. The sliding clutch member 94 is held in clutch driving engagement by gravity as .long as the electro-magnet I9 is not energized.

In Fig. 5 the hollow conical cup I00 is secured "to the s em I 0 I which is sl dably iournaled in the frame 56 and connected with a thrust hearing at I02 to the upper end of connecting rod I03 which is pivoted to the equalizing lever I04. which is pivoted to the link I08 which is pivoted at I01 to the bracket 90 of the housing I0. The opposite end of the equalizing bar I04 is bifurcated and pivoted to the thrust collar I08 which is journaled between the flanges, I09 which are fixed to the shaft 95, the above mechanism forming an equalizing gear to move the cup I00 and the cup H0 in opposite directions simultaneously. These with the lever H2 in the shownpositionJ In Fig. 2 the roller I I3 is journaled atthe end of the lever II4 which is pivoted on the stud II5 which is supported bythe housing I0 to which it is affixed. The lever II 4 is biased toward the peach with a comparatively heavy spring IIO mounted in the spring seat I" which is a projection of the housing I0, and has secured to itself near the pivoted end II5 a comparatively fruit when biased together by the springJ II and passes through the center of theseat I. while tact points H9. and HI together. The circuit thus completed energizes the'electro-magnet I23 which lifts the armature which disconnects the clutch and instantly sets the brake as has been previously described, and thus stops the peach with the'stem indent in the predetermined position.

In Fig. 1 the peach I24 is shown in a section taken on the lines XI-XI of Fig. 2 and is held. and revolved between and by the rollers I25, which are mounted with the housings 4344 and shaft 40, and equipped with the equalizing gear as before described, as well as with an electromagnet operated clutch and brake mechanism such as was previously described at 96 and 99 of Fig. 5. In Fig. 1 the levers I26 and I21 are freely pivoted to the housing 44 at I28 and held in contact with the peach by gravity. The lever I2'I carries the grounded to housing I0 contact point I29 and terminates in a disc with a comparativelylarge radius best shown in Fig. 10, which also shows the comparatively small radius of the'flnger I26. The finger I20, Fig. 1, carries the insulated adjustable contact point I30 connected to the electro-magnet I3I by the electric wire I32. These points I29 and I30 are adjusted so that they willmake contact only when a sharp seam similar to the seam I33 in the peach I24 in Fig. 10 permits the small radius of lever I26,

Fig. 10, to overrun the largerradius of lever I21. Thus occasional fiat spots or bruises from handling are prevented from operating the stopping and braking mechanism, this stopping and braking mechanism being similar to that which hasbeen previously described in Fig. 5, parts No.-

79,90 and 99.

This seam detecting mechanism can be made still more selective by elongating the axial length entering short radius of the lever of the seam In Fig. 6, which shows the inspection station. the shaft .00 has afllxed thereto the lever I34 pivoted to the connecting rod I35 which passes freely through a slot in the bellcrank I30 and' terminates in a flange I31 which will not pass through this slot. The bellcrank I36 is pivoted at I30 to the lug of the housing I0 and has'a pivot I39 to support the lever I40 and terminates in a semi-annular seat I to fit the base of the average sized fruit when the fruit is being held in the tongs l0. The top of lever I40 is bent and the lower end is pivoted to the connecting rod I42 which is pivoted to the bellcrank I43 which is pivoted on the lug extension of the housing I8, while the opposite end is pivoted to the upright spacing bar I44.

The spacing bar I44 is provided with a counterweight to bias the top of the bar I44 toward the left in Fig. 6. The tongs operating bar I45 must slide from the position shown, to the left, approximately against the wall of the housing I8 and back again, this lateral motion being derived, through suitable means (not shown) from the pitting machine II.

This bar I45 is so adjusted that when in the position shown in Fig. 2, it will engage the ends of the gear segments 28 and open the tongs I8 at all operating stations except station G in Fig. 2, which is shown in transverse section in Fig. 6. This exception at station G is accom plished by notching the bar I45 as at I48 to a depth greater than the travel required by the segments 28 to fully .open the tongs I8. The top of the spacing bar I44 in Fig. 6 is of the same dimensions as, and registers with, the notch I48, so that when the bar I44 is raised while the bar I45 is in the leftward position, into the notch I48, a movement of the bar I45 to the rightward position will open the tongs at station G the same as at the other stations.

In Fig. 6 a downward movement of the lever I34 pulls the top of the bellcrank I88 away from the fruit I48 which is necessary when changing fruits, and the return stroke with its over travel permits the seat I4I to be biased by the counterweight I4I to contact the peach I48 regardless of the size of the latter. when the peach I48 is properly orientated the top or bent end of the lever I40 will enter the stem indent and position the spacing bar I44 as shown. However, should the peach I48 be improperly orientated; that is, having the stem indent in any other relative position, the lever I48 will be forced to the right in Fig. 6 relative to seat I4I which will raise the bar I44 to result in opening the tongs I8,'as previously described, thus dropping the peach I48 intothe reject discharge chute I48 which is secured to the housing I8.

Fig. 7 shows a transverse sectional view of the transfer station where the properly orientated fruit is fed to the pitting machine II, only a fragmentary section of which is shown, having the stationary opposed knifelike guideways I58 to guide and support the fruit.

The orientator has a short section of similar but separable guideways II registering when advanced, with the stationary guideways I58. The guideways "II are secured to the stems I52 which are slidably mounted in the housing I8 and frame 58, and positively opened and closed by the links I58and I 54, which are pivoted to the double bellcrank I58 which is secured to the shaft 88 and actuated by the connecting rod I88 leading to the pitting machine II by which it is actuated. Y i i Fig. 2 shows a push bar I81 supported and actuated by the pitting machine II. In Fig. 1 the pulleys 42 and 81 which drive the fruit revolving mechanisms are driven by a belt I88 which is interwoven between the various pulleys in order to drive each, and then passing to and back from the pitting machine H, by which it is driven (see also Fig. 2). v

The pitting machine I I of necessity. has a cam shaft (not shown) to operate andsynchronize the pitting mechanism, and inasmuch as the orientating must also be synchronized in step with the pitting, it is in the interests of convenience, accuracy of synchronization and economy to use this pre-existing cam shaft to operate and synchronize the orientating mechanisms.

The functions to be thus operated and synchronized are, first, the endless chain I4 (Fig. 1) opening the tongs l8,- raising and lowering the revolving rollers 45 and I25, the cups I08II8 and the guideways I5I. Also retracting the inspecting levers I48-I4I, as well as raising and lowering the frame 52, which carries the tip cutoff knives 48 and the fingers H1 at station D;

all of which must be advanced or operated intermittently as previously described.

Operation After a particular peach finally reaches the extreme bottom of the hopper 24, or the free space between the hopper and the tongs, it will drop into the opening between the tongs I8 which are being forced open by cam 39, and be carried forward step by step until it reaches the station A, where due to the termination of the cam 38, the tongs I8 will grip the peach, due toall carried by the frame 52 are lowered to position as shown in Fig. 1. Secondly, the rollers 48 at stations B, C and D and rollers I25 at station F and the cups IIIIl-IIII at station E are advanced to contact and hold and later to revolve their respective fruits, being biased thereto by th springs- 48 for the rollers and III for the cups. Thirdly, the inspection levers I4II-I4I at station G are biased to operating position by the counterweight M1. The object of providing a flexible means for bringing the rollers and inspection levers into contact with the fruit is, first to prevent bruising the fruit, and second to accommodate the variations in both size and profile. Fourthly, the retractable guideways I5I at station H are brought into a positive operating engagement with the fruit, the entering edge of the guideways I5I being sharpened to cut into the fruit asshown in Fig. '7, all the four preceding objects being controlled by the pitting machine II through the rod I58 of Fig. 7, and the shaft 86 as previously described. Fifthly, the source of electrical energy for operating the electro-magnets at stations D, E, and F is restored by the pitting machine II (not shown).

As previously described, the relative position of the detecting lever I48 to the seat I M will be determined instantly upon contact with the peach I48, thussetting the space bar I44 in proper position. While the detecting lever I48 is being brought into contact with the fruit, the tongs operating bar I45 are retracted so the space bar I44 is free to enter the notch I 48. As soon as the foregoing operations are completed the pitting machine will advance the tongs operating bar I45, thus opening the tongs so the fruit is free to be revolved, or to drop into the reject chute I 48 if improperly orientated at this station.

Upon completion of the above, the belt I58 is immediately started by the pitting machine I I and run far enough to turn each of the revolving description.

fruit at least one and one-eighth revolutions by 4 so that when a fruit is carried to the orientating as shown in Fig. 2, each of which encircle slightly more than 45 of the periphery of the fruit, it is obvious that a full revolution of the fruit will subject the tip to the cutting action of either one knife 49 or the other, providing the tip lies within an arc of from 45 to 90 of a transverse horizontal axis. See Fig. 2station B. However, should the tip be positioned between and 45 from the horizontal transverse axis, and so as not to fall in the plane covered by the knives at station B, the knives at station 0 will sever the tip in the next cycle, because they are set at 90 from those at station B, the rollers 46 at station 0 being also turned 90 in order to revolve the fruit accordingly.

Operation of the belt I58 will simultaneously station with the stem indent in some other position than down (such as shown by the broken line I64), by the tongs. I8 while being clamped about. the fruit as previously described. and while the roller I6I is stationary, the tongs I6 will then be opened far enough to permit the fruit to revolve, yet close enough to form a guide to retain the fruit directly over the roller I6I, which is then revolved in either direction and with it the fruit, until the latter has reached the position shown at I60 where the roller .I6I will continue to turn, but the fruit will stop, as it is now supported by'the face I63 andthe roller I6I is turning freely in the indent.

In actual practice it has been found-that the proportions shown in Fig. 11 are very satisfactory and that the fruit revolves so erratically that it is invariably properly orientated to a stem down position before the fruit has made five revolutions.

After the roller I6I has completed a predetermined number of revolutions the roller is 5 I63 and the tongs are-carried by the chain It sever the tip and orientate both the stem indent and the seam. At the same time, levers Ill-I42 will inspect for proper orientation and the pitting machine II will operate the push bar I51 to transfer the peach to the pitting machine and return the push bar I51 to the shownposition in Fig. '1, all the foregoing while the chain,

I4 is at'rest, and in accordance with the previous Upon completion of the foregoing, the pitting machine now operates to stop the belt I56 and to retract the tongs operating bar I permitting the tongs I8 to again grip the fruit, and also to disconnect the source of electrical energy from the electro-magnets.

As soon as the fruit is secured by the tongs,

soon as all these have-been retracted to clear the-path of the fruit, the pitting machine advances the chain I 4 and consequently the tongs and fruit one station to the right in Fig. 1, thus completing thecycle, which is now ready to be repeated.

Fig. '11 shows means for orientating fruit to a stem end down position, which is preferable in many instances. This figure shows a fruit I60 which has just been orientated by the serrated roller I 6|, which is secured to the shaft I62 which is journaled in a lug (not shown) of the housing III, and suitably and intermittently revolved by the pitting machine II through means not shown. "The fruit I60 is shown resting on the shallow concave, conical face I63 cf the housing Ill. The relative size of the roller I6I to the stem indent in particular (and the fruit being orientated in a lesser degree) is very important, as'is also the face I63 in its relation to the roller I6I. The optimum relative size of the to projectinto the concave seat- I63 far enough to revolve the fruit at all times when the stem indent is in any other relative position than down, as shown by the heavy lines I60. when the fruit is in this position the roller I6I ,must

also be small enough to clear the. stern inden t,

as previously describedto the next station and the cycle repeated. I

Fig. 12 shows means to inspecigthe fruit for proper orientation (and reject-all that is not properly orientated) in a stem downward position. In this design the fraine III, is provided with a lug I66 having a pivot I61 for the balance lever I68 which terminates'at one end in the counterweight I69 whichmust be lighter than the fruit, and at the opposite end in an annular seat I10 to support thefruit I1I. An inspecting finger I12 is pivoted'at I13 to the lever I66 and provided with a counterweight I16 which also serves as a latch and fitted to catch on the is secured to and projects from I means (not shown) for a vertical movement sufrolle'r- I6Isis that which is as large as possible (to better revolve the fruit) yet small enough.

ficient to lower the fruit I'll into the seat I'll before the tongs I8 are opened. ,The finger I1: is so fitted that improper orientation of the fruit I will raise latch I14from the pin I15 so that -the improperly orientated fruit will be spilled off the seat "II, which will then be returned to the shown position b the counterweight I66.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a machine which while full automatic, will orientate and pit fruits along" a definite and predetermined axis, and thus mechanically perform operations heretofore only Possible by slow, tedious manual work.

Furthermore, the uniformity of 'output is even better than with manual pitting and the production is high compared to prior methods of orientated pitting. It will also be obvious that uni 1. A fruit processing machine comprising a conveyor, a fruit clamp on said conveyor for holding and releasing a fruit, a pair of opposed coplanar rollers, a framejournaling said rollers and having coaxial'portions, means for slidably positioning said frames with said rollers incoplanar relationship and with said coaxial portions extending in oppgsite directions above and below the path of said clamp, means for moving said frames together to contact a fruit held in said clamp, means for opening said clamp, means for rotating one of said' wheels to rotate said fruit, opposed arcuate knives hinged to one of said frames and means for pressing said knives against the. fruit surface.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein means are provided to swing said knives away from said fruit when said frames are retracted to free said fruit.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 set to trace substantially different paths over wherein one of said knives has an arcuate extent of substantially 45 on one side of said fruit, and the other knife has the same arcuate extent on the other side of said fruit, said knives being 20 the fruit surface during fruit rotation.

and driving means are provided along said conveyor and spaced from the first set with the- I wheels of the 'second set positioned at*right-' angles to the wheels of the first set.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein means are provided to regrip said fruit in said clamp, means for moving saidframes apart, and means for simultaneously swinging said knives away from said fruit surface to free said fruit for progression by said conveyor. 7

ELLBWOR'HI W. CARROLL. 

